A former student at De La Salle High School in New Orleans claims he was molested by his principal and another man over the course of two years when he attended the school back in the 1980s, in yet another case of abuse involving an organization associated with the Catholic Church.

The new accusations are the subject of a civil lawsuit filed by the alleged victim in Orleans Parish Civil District Court on Aug. 7, the local newspaper The Advocate recently reported. But they are not the first charges of sex abuse to be leveled against the two men – the late principal Richard Langenstein and Robert Gandara.

Langenstein and Gandara were charged separately with crimes related to child molestation in connection with their work at St. Paul’s School in Covington in the 1990s. Each pleaded no contest in their cases in St. Tammany Parish and were sentenced, the newspaper reported. Langenstein died in 2003.

Langenstein and Gandara were unordained religious brothers, not priests.

Allegations Against De La Salle High School Principal, Gandara

According to the recently filed civil lawsuit, the alleged victim, who is not identified by name, attended La Salle High School from 1981 to 1985. He says the sexual abuse began when he was 15 years old on a day he went to then-principal Langenstein’s office to get a tardy slip.

In the office, the principal made the young boy undress and then he fondled the student, the lawsuit says.

Similar instances took place with Langenstein, and then Gandara, throughout the following two years, the plaintiff says. The men fondled him and “committed other acts of abuse,” in the school, on campus and during school-sponsored events at other locations, The Advocate’s report said.

“The other abusive acts are mostly unspecified, though the lawsuit singles out one instance in which Gandara allegedly tried to perform oral sex on the plaintiff during a school trip to Europe while the boy slept,” the newspaper reported.

The complaint reportedly tells that the plaintiff’s mother actually “caught Langenstein fondling the boy during a pool party at the teen’s house, leading her to kick the principal out of their home.” It is unclear if the mother ever reported the incident to anyone.

Langenstein allegedly took the teenager out for dinner, gave him tickets to box seats at sports events and gifted him other things as a means of keeping him from telling anyone else about the molestation.

Reaction to New De La Salle High School Lawsuit

De La Salle is run by the regional chapter of the Christian Brothers. School President Paul Kelly told The Advocate’s reporter he would not comment on the lawsuit specifically because the case is ongoing, but made a point of stressing the allegations involve acts that took place almost 40 years ago.

“The safety and well-being of the young people we serve is of paramount importance to us,” The Advocate quoted Kelly as saying. “We are committed to … a safe environment for all members of our school.”

The lawsuit names De La Salle High School, Langenstein’s estate, Gandara, the Christian Brothers, and Catholic Charities as the defendants in the case.

“This story is yet another reminder that it is not just priests who abuse children in the Catholic Church, but also staffers at every level,” the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests said in a statement issued about the lawsuit earlier this month. “We renew our call for Archbishop Gregory Aymond to update the list of accused within the Archdiocese of New Orleans to contain the names, work histories, and whereabouts of every single Catholic employee who has been accused of hurting children, not just those wearing a Roman collar.”

Because they were not considered to be clergymen, neither Langenstein nor Gandara have been included on the Archdiocese of New Orleans’ list of more than 60 priests and deacons it considers having been credibly accused of child sexual abuse. SNAP advocates argue that oversight is important to efforts to protect the victims.

“The complete picture of the abuse of Catholic children in the Archdiocese of New Orleans is still hidden,” the SNAP statement says. “Survivors continue to come forward for help and healing.”

Financial Impact of Sex Abuse Claims

According to the De La Salle High School lawsuit, the plaintiff has suffered emotional trauma so severe he repressed his memories of the abuse and was only able to recover them during the course of psychological treatment and therapy. He is asking the court to award him an unspecified amount of monetary damages.

Catholic Charities, according to The Advocate, has petitioned the court to “transfer its portion of the case to New Orleans’ federal bankruptcy court. The Archdiocese of New Orleans is also in the process of Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization after filing for the protection in May. Archdiocese officials have said they were forced to declare bankruptcy because the coronavirus pandemic caused the church’s already shaky financial status to crumble under the weight of so many sex abuse claims, lawsuits and other costs.

This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.